Ireland’s Ornua agrees to acquire F.J. Need in UK

Irish dairy firm Ornua has agreed to to acquire F.J. Need Foods, the Cheshire-based cheese ingredients company.

Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed by either company.

Ornua explained that this acquisition is in line with its strategy to further strengthen its core businesses in Germany, North America and the UK.

Established more than 40 years ago, F.J. Need’s is a family-run company, which owns two cheese brands, a  cutting, grating and slicing facility, as well as a distribution fleet.

F.J. Need anticipates that its competences would complement Ornua’s UK business’s capabilities in the post-Brexit environment.

Ornua CEO Kevin Lane said: “This acquisition will be another important milestone in Ornua’s growth as a global supplier of quality dairy products.  We are buying an excellent family dairy business, which allows us to significantly strengthen our presence in the UK ingredients sector.

“The complementary nature of our customer bases and the potential to further scale the business makes this a strong fit for Ornua.  We are looking forward to working with Paul and Tracey Need to grow the business in the coming years.”

A producer and distributor of a wide range of British and Irish cheese ingredients, F.J Need currently produces 16,000t of cheese a year.

In the last two years, Ornua has invested in acquisitions and major capital expenditure in Africa, China, Germany, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UK and the US.

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Image: Ornua agrees to acquire Irish Cheese firm F.J. Need. Photo: courtesy of Ornua.